Cyclists Ready, Steady, Go!

It's that time of year again and on Sunday more than half the club travel bright and early to Henley on Klip for the Value Logistics The Fast One Cycle race.
     This is the first of three events where we display our marshaling skills to raise funds for our projects.
     The other two are the Carnival City MacSteel Cycle Race, which takes place on 21 February this year and the Greatest Train Race in Middelburg, date yet to be communicated. Please volunteer your services for the MacsSteel, as we're still short of marshals.
     The three events netted more than R20 000 last year, so are very much worth the trouble of waking up early on a couple of Sundays.
     The 14 members who are going to Henley have already received their instructions, but we've been asked by the organizers to emphasize the need for uniformity so that both cyclists and vehicles know what to do.
     The following charts explain it all:

The trick to signaling to motorists is to signal with the flag as shown

   

The trick to signaling to cyclists is to hold the flag visibly in one hand and point with
 your free hand

     Apart from keeping cyclists safe in often quite scary conditions with heavy trucks and irate motorists bearing down on you ("s^e vir daai f**ken fietsryers ek ry hulle van hul f**ken fietse af!") the morning can be quite entertaining.  
     Now those who've never been marshaling before can see how much fun it can be!
   
     Project news: The 5 Cees are sourcing uniforms, stationary and school books, with which we've pledged to help to the tune of R10 000.
     Hotel Hope: The search for a suitable vehicle with which New Dawn will help, is ongoing.
     The Link: The Maths centre should be up and running in February, while president Jankees and Ian continue talks at district level to try and find ways of raising RI funds to give them a massive boost.
      To this end New Dawn has just paid about R55 000 over to Rotary International, made up of our semi-annual dues (R9 000); Every Rotarian Every Year (R32 000) and the Polio Fund (R14 700). The exchange rate has made it hellishly expensive to contribute to RI, and will probably mean we'll have to raise the club dues for the next Rotary financial year, starting in July. For now it remains at R850, and the invoices will be going out soon.
     Other projects are ongoing.
     Thought for the cyclists: Life is like riding a bicycle: you don't fall off unless you stop pedaling. - Claude Pepper, US Senator 1900 - 1989.
     Thought for the Week: It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere - Voltaire (1694 - 1778)